My father and I did a lot of things together when I was growing up. Most of it was working him around the farm, but from an early age he taught me firearm safety and marksmanship. At the time I thought it was neat to be treated like a “big kid” and to shoot a gun, but looking back now I understand my father’s reasoning.

In order to shoot well, you must be disciplined. Firearm safety, rules of engagement, and marksmanship all rely heavily on your ability to think beyond yourself and to act with discipline. They are lessons that many people I know still haven’t learned.

I live a fair distance from most of my family members. Despite a wide age range and many miles, we share several common interests. One of these is marksmanship, and my father is using the Internet to put together a little family fun.

Some of us are competing in an informal handgun accuracy contest every month. My father, my brother, his wife, their oldest son, myself, and Sedagive? are all giving it a try.

I am going to post my results here, and if you want to play along as well you can email me at [email protected].

Here are the rules:

You may use any handgun you wish. My father recommended that you should use your primary duty / carry pistol if you are in law enforcement / the military, or if you have a concealed carry handgun permit. My father wrote, “Carry what you shoot, Shoot what you carry.”

You must shoot unsupported with your off-hand. This means that if you are normally right-handed that you must shoot with your left. You must use only your off-hand and cannot use both hands or any other means of support.

Shooting is to take place at 10 yards.

Please try to use the NRA #16 target for consistency.

Scoring is as follows: each ring is scored according to its number (6 ring = 6 points). The X ring is 15 points.

If any part of a bullet hole touches the ring of a higher score, count the higher score. E.g., if a shot is in the 7 ring but touches the line of the 8 ring, count the shot as an 8.

Shoot ten times. There is no time limit, but please shoot at a reasonable speed.

I am shooting my Rock Island Armory 1911 Officer compact, and Sedagive? is shooting my Smith & Wesson .22LR target pistol. We already made a trip to the range for May, but I am going to wait until the end of the month to show our results in case anyone reading wants to participate.